Monticello abolishes police commission

MONTICELLO — Monticello's Village Board voted unanimously to abolish the village's police commission after a heated public hearing Tuesday night.

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By NATHAN BROWN

recordonline.com

By NATHAN BROWN

Posted May. 7, 2014 at 2:00 AM
Updated May 7, 2014 at 8:05 AM

By NATHAN BROWN

Posted May. 7, 2014 at 2:00 AM
Updated May 7, 2014 at 8:05 AM

» Social News

MONTICELLO — Monticello's Village Board voted unanimously to abolish the village's police commission after a heated public hearing Tuesday night.

Sullivan County District Attorney Jim Farrell, who supported the Police Benevolent Association's lawsuit to disband the commission, read from the law creating it — it gives commissioners supervisory powers — and called it "nothing more than a naked power grab."

He heaped praise on former Chief Doug Solomon, and said the commission's creation drove him out.

"All you care about is power and controlling the police department," Farrell said of Mayor Gordon Jenkins. "This police department needs to be controlled by individuals who have the best interests of the citizens of this community at heart. Police professionals, like (current chief) Robert Mir, and like Doug Solomon."

Solomon stepped down two years ago; he was elected to the village board in March of this year on the anti-Jenkins Monticello United ticket, and was sitting on the board at Tuesday's hearing.

The commission was created in December 2011; Jenkins and former Trustee T.C. Hutchins were on it. Hutchins had to resign last year, though, after he was convicted of charges related to pressuring the police to hire a friend of his as a cop.

Jenkins said the commission was created to respond to civilian complaints about police conduct. He accused Farrell of having racial motivations; as Jenkins spoke, Rochelle Massey, a former trustee and Jenkins' girlfriend, shouted from the audience that Farrell went after Jenkins and Hutchins because they're black.

"You're pushing every black person in this community out the door," Jenkins said.

Jenkins has a pending drunk driving charge, and is on probation, with the possibility of jail hanging over his head, for his conviction of misdemeanor obstruction of governmental administration in a July 2012 fracas outside his store during which he accidentally hit a cop in the head.

Jenkins said too many minorities are being put in jail in this country, and that society should focus more on reducing crime by reaching young people early.

"We have beautiful police officers and jail cells, and all kinds of police cars and all, but we don't even have a youth center," he said.

He accused the police of having a negative view of many of the people they're supposed to be protecting.

"People's lives are like crap," Jenkins said. "And that's how a lot of law-enforcement see it, too."

Police Benevolent Association president John Riegler objected to this.

"The police don't think people here are scum," Riegler said. "That's not what we think. We care about this community."

Several of the commission's opponents said they would support reactiviating the village's Human Rights Commission, which could hear complaints about police and other village employees as well.